Recap: You are ANON, the RED JOKER. In our last instalment, you spoke with TOMOMI ERI - Actually SAEKI MIO, a student at SEISIN HIGH. On the trail of the THIEF, you encountered REIKO, the Student Council President...And uncovered, the hard way, her dark secret. Now, you're face-to-face with the horrible thing, ALECTO, that just erupted from her form...

From a distance, one could mistake Alecto for a predatory flyer, a bird-of-prey. Not up close, of course; Up close, it's rather less like a bird, and rather more like a demon.

You've never seen anything *quite* like it, before - Not in the forms of the strangest Players you've encountered, fought, killed. She - it - is a great, winged shape roughly three times your size, pulsing red muscle sealed within ribs and sleeves of pitted metal. Great, brushed-steel wings slice the air, their skeletal framework lined with stained-glass and precious metals...

And, where the construct's skull should be - forming a shape vaguely like the hooked crescent of a cruel, snapping beak - is something like a marble angel, a white sacrophagus anchored in place by countless, nearly invisible filaments. Their faint silver gleam is nearly lost in the crackling white sparks arcing over the tortured form hovering - impossibly - before you...

It has two mouths. Both move at once, laughing, *shrieking* as the onyx pits of hollow eyes orientate upon your crimson form, hungry jags of lightning scaling across crushing steel claws...

-You hear a low, humming *whine*, like an engine cycling up to charge.

>>20285009Okay, keep our distance. Open fire with the Vulcans at any weak points like joints in the wings. I did not expect this.

>>20285039I'm not sure about Interceptors, she's covered in lightning so they might just get fried the moment they come close. We should start with one and see if it gets blammed before we invest all of them.

...The world goes white, as a single leaping bolt of soul-lightning blasts down from above, from the dark, scudding clouds overhead. You're caught on the fringes of it; Your HUD fuzzes with sudden, inexplicable static, as your limbs spasm, beneath the enerverating surge, shots going wild as you're hurled from your feet...

>>20285099Okay, get near some of those towers if we can, use them as cover and they might divert the electricity somewhat.

Open fire on wing joints, try to cripple her flight.

The interceptors should focus on distracting her Interceptors and keeping them from getting to us. See what happens if one of the ones on the end of the electricity chain gets cut off from the ones by one of our Interceptors chopping it in half.

Turn on the Assault Shroud's after image thing to prevent accurate attacks and force her to rely more on AoE attacks instead of focused ones on us, it'll also help throw off the Interceptors.

That *hurt*. That *really* hurt. You stagger to your feet, armored boots scraping against the ground as you lurch into a run - Your Vulcans spitting plasma bolts as you correct your aim, muscles burning within your crimson armor.

White-hot blasts stitch the sky, as Alecto's brass wards sideslip and dart into the path of the scorching tracers - But every one spent shielding the skeletal shape is one that isn't coming towards you. Some of shots streak past; You see the energy erupt in tiny explosions against steel wings, stained-glass 'feathers', red flesh...

-Alecto *wails*, a cry predatory and pained at once...As if feeling pain for the first time, and not relishing the novelty as meat sears away to nothing beneath the plasma caress.

You feeling positive ions building in the swirling blackness around you, the air beginning to spit and crackle as you dart into the shadow of a cyclopean skyscraper...When the forking lightning bolt spits down, it slams into tower first, conducting down in a visible ripple of electricity - Sparks fly from your boots as the denuded shock gnaws into you, forcing a stagger into your step.

What kind of thing has she *become*? You've never seen a Player like this, never. It's a form more avian that humanoid, more monster than man...

It takes time for the thing to call down more thunderbolts from the sullen, churning skies - You see burnished Fangs streak forth from the looming shape as you sprint out of the way, Assault Shroud shedding afterimages; Two of them drive into the ground like spikes, punching through the ghostly mirage you leave in your wake.

The third one's on a collision course...Until one of your Interceptors sideswipes it, slashes it out of the air, your other two drones spinning in defensive velocities around you. It seems like their cutting fields *are* a match for whatever Alecto's are made off...

She's got a long-range, slow charging mildly AOE attack that does massive damage and probably relies on those pile of interceptors to hurt or prevent her from just being kited to death.

Well... let's start chucking rockets around the tower at her while standing behind it. Chances are good she'll knock it down, but we may as well throw the missiles from around a corner she can't get to. Occasionally pop out and have a look.

>>20285254Keep near a skyscraper at all times to divert the blow from the lightning, keep moving between them so Alecto can't draw a bead on us. Take cover when we can and keep our interceptors in a defensive formation.

>>20285331She can probably intercept the rockets with her own interceptors and we'll run out of Meter far before she runs out of things to block them with.

As long as we keep moving with the afterimages and our interceptors in a defensive net we can avoid most of them and blow the rest out of the air. But we should keep shooting her, though sending a few missiles on an arc wouldn't go amiss, but not too many, we'll need something big like the Railgun or the Annihilator to deal big damage to her.

Your mono-optic sensor focuses, as you sprint - All three Inteceptors whirling in slicing arcs, criss-crossing in the air as brass talons streak through the charged distance; You can feel the seething buildup of another blast of soul-lightning, as you wrench round to get a lock...

Alecto's great shape is moves with predatory silence - Another impossibility, how can something so big be so *quiet*? - a quiet belied by the forking arcs of bioelectricity discharging on all sides, glyphs and talons forming a seething cloud around it-

But you have a target lock. Your eyes narrow as you shelter behind the still-rising spire of a fresh-forged block - Your Triskelion racks opening as red-tipped missiles (Four of them) launch, in a choking fume of smoke and rocket flame...

Where you are, you don't *see* it - But you hear a satisfying explosion that stabs fire in all direction, a rising *shriek* of frustration and hunger-

And *then* you see the shadow lurching in your direction ~ Hear the enraged buzzing of the countless drones circling their mother. You risk two more missiles, before you take to your heels - This time, the lightning bolt from above is just an actinic tingle, as you wrench away from the building in time.

...The last one takes you in the back. It's a barbed bronze spike - The Assault Shroud takes most of the impact, but it gouges into your shoulder, hooking into you with a flare of red pain. You can hear it buzzing, buzzing as it begins to gnaw into your flesh...

Rip the spike out of our back quickly, we don't want it to burrow and make more trouble for us.

Keep to our agenda of dodging between towers and shielding ourself with Interceptors.

I think we can justify throwing a portion of Cobalt Booster into our Vulcans and blowing the fuck our of one of her wings, the one most damaged by the missiles, and hopefully slowing her down or even grounding her.

Alecto's drones - Her Talons, her Fangs, whatever they are - slam into the ground all around you, with a splitting *crack* that reminds you of rifle shots. Your Assault Shroud fills the air with nanomaterial chaff, afterimages boiling away from your lurching form - A form that suddenly surges forth with redoubled speed as your Cobalt Booster kicks in, as you reach back, your gauntlet curling around the spike's buzzing shaft...

-It twitches in your grasp, like a living thing, fighting your efforts. There's a momentary sense of deja vu, as if you've *dreamed* this; Your blue-glowing gauntlet wrenching *hard*, pulling it out by the roots as it fights to drag itself *deeper*-

White lightning flashes. You glimpse Alecto's silhouette, the cruel beak clacking open; Crazed bolts of soul-lightning jagging from spread wings, lashing against the ground in scourging whips. It's an electric chain, a seething line of lightnings leaping from Fang to buried Fang...

-To you.

The pain fills your world, blasts all sense away. Even conducted, the voltage is immense - It hurls you from your feet, into a skidding, graceless roll; You taste copper in your mouth, your entire body quaking with agony - The scent of blistered flesh in your nostrils, as if you're cooking inside your armor...

Somehow, though - A small mercy - you managed to pull the bastard thing out. Burnt-out, it clatters to the ground as your spasming hand hurls it aside.

Your Boosted form still glows faintly with discharging forks of energy - Dimly, you realize that it must've insulated you, somehow, or you'd have managed *that* a lot worse. The worst part is the stunning effect; It makes it hard to move, to stand, as Alecto's shape lofts over the buildings, circled by its hunting hawks - There's a tiny *crash* as one of your Interceptors ploughs into the ground, as the great shape prepares to incinerate you...

-You hear the shrill roar of a rocket launch, and something - Something that looks like a missile - streaks up towards the vengeful fury, detonating in a expanding clouds of glittering filaments, of chaff. Boots thump down next to you, and you look up into a skull-masked face, red eyes like hot embers...

It's the Thief.

"Can you stand?" It's a quick blurt from his mouth grille, his gaze flicking back to Alecto - The winged beast momentarily distressed, faltering in the air as its glyphs lose all direction, orbiting blindly...

[ ] "Wh - *How* are you here? Isn't this a one-on-one fight?"[ ] "What *is* that thing...?"[ ] "-Are you here to help?"[ ] "What did you just do?"[ ] FREE

>>20285594[X]"Oh don't mind me, I was just admiring the hellish landscape up close and personal. I was actually thinking of renting a timeshare in one of the towers, I hear the view is -spectacular- this time of year... Small bird problem though."

>>20285688Heh, SMALL bird problem. I like this. Perfect blend of smartaleck and WHAT DO YOU THING GENIUS to get back at this jerk for causing this situation in the first place. Given that he's here to help I won't suggest breaking the sword in front of him like I was originally planning to.

You shake off the effects of the stunning blast - Your shoulder hurts like hell, but you can still move your limbs; The aching numbness clearing from your form, as you find your feet.

[x] "Wh - *How* are you here? Isn't this a one-on-one fight?"[X] "What *is* that thing...?"

"-It's not." He glances back at Alecto's floundering form. "It's a Player, *and* a Corrector. Two of them, fused together - One of Argent Prominence's less wholesome experiments, most likely."

Back at you.

"...Two of us."

[X] "What did you just do?"

"Disruptor missile." He shrugs, and something heavy slides off his shoulder, clanking against the ground - It's bullky, blocky...Like a one-shot rocket launcher, already fizzing away to blotchy pixels when it hits the floor. "...Not going to last long."

There's a *crash*, a horrible shrieking noise like fingernails against a chalkboard; The embedded Fangs wrench themselves free, violently, tumbling through the air in open defiance of gravity. Your Interceptors, momentarily left without targets, streak back towards you - Scything their way through confused Glyphs and Talons, dented but still operational.

> [X] How much of this did you plan out? > [X] "Oh don't mind me, I was just admiring the hellish landscape up close and personal. I was actually thinking of renting a timeshare in one of the towers, I hear the view is -spectacular- this time of year... Small bird problem though."

"Very little of it."

Is he lying? The helmet makes it impossible to tell - Though your follow-up draws an annoyed grunt from him, rendered nearly imperceptible through his filter. You've gotten under his skin, if only for a moment.

He makes a gesture, and his carbine appears in his hands, as he racks the slide with a fractional nod. "-I'm glad you find this so amusing, Joker...But together, we might have a chance."

We need to get under Alecto any way possible. We're going to open it's defenses up with a shot from the plasma caster, then one of the single fire beams from the cobalt booster. This should provide enough damage to ground it without killing it outright.

Right, basic plan. We stick near towers to deal with the lightning strikes, you blow the hell out of any of the Fangs is sends out, one of those hits it can chain lightning right to us, any that get past you me and my Interceptors will deal with.

While you're keeping me unstabbed by flying Fangs I'll be blowing giant chunks into it with plasma and building up to a big enough gun to make it cry.

The glittering chaff - The obscuring radiation thrown off by the warhead's detonation - is beginning to fade, as the Skull's attention turns to the ornate chronometer on his wrist. "Transition in three, two, on-"

The ground rumbles. Creeping tarnish sweeps across the buildings before you, as Alecto rights itself - The soulless pits of its eyes takes in both targets before it; With a hawk's shrill cry, it rears back and...

-Suddenly, the air is filled with flying blades. Razor-thin shards, like knives, like shuriken; You hear the Thief curse as his trusty body-shield flares to life around him. You weather the storm better with your Assault Shroud - The scraping blades shattering against the stiffened nanomaterial, your twin Interceptors circling you in tight orbits, shearing through the projectiles before they can get close, as you charge.

You're not sure why the enemy has shifted gears all of a sudden - Until a forking bolt of lightning sizzles past you, like a crackling lash of electricity. It slams against the nearest building's shadow, grounding itself...Jolting you, but the shock's better than a direct hit.

Wait guys hang on, heroic chance here. At the very least we need to dig for more information, since Argent is the suspect in this situation our chromic friend might end up on the wrong side of the surgery.

Unrelatedly, I am the only person who pictures Red Joker as Tatsuya Suou's Apollo Persona, with metal and guns instead of pajamas?

You're closing to optimum range when the Fangs deploy - All at once, this time, fanning out in every direction like a lethal brass starburst, linked by seething cords of white electricity...

-Something like an expanding net explodes past you, tangling up the end of the chain. The linked lances of lightning spiral to the side, the connection momentary denuded; You're closing in on Alecto's bulk, now, as something clatters past your feet-

There's a *whomph* as it detonates, expanding in a glass-clear field.

Everything. Slows. Down.

No, not everything. *You've* sped up - You're in a field of accelerated time, washing forth from the bizarre cube the Thief tossed at your feet.

This time, when you fire, the Glyphs just don't move fast enough. The bolts scorch right past them; They sear into Alecto's raw-muscle wings, flesh superheating, exploding beneath the impacts - Two well-aimed bursts slam into it's reinforced skull, searing the white finish of the marble angel...

...Your Tyrant Burst cannon stabs out a single ice-white beam of energy. Somehow, two Glyphs are in the way; They melt, like dry ice beneath a blowtorch, as the ray gouges into Alecto's fleshy torso. The *scream* you hear is long, drawn-out in fast time; You see it *ripple*, a violet judder working through the thing's frame...

You didn't have the time to ask him - *Would* he have answered, if you'd asked him? - but *this* close to the creature, you see that he was right, earlier; It's really a thing of two parts, like a massive winged predator with a reinforced frame bolted onto it.

A reinforced frame laced through with countless silver filaments, thinning to invisibility - All of them piercing the (faintly charred) marble of the sealed albaster Sarcophagus. Is there *something* within? This massive, unnatural body, unlike any Player you've known...Is Reiko's true form *inside* it?

> Fusion Annhilator, with Cobalt Booster.

It's usually *really* risky to use the Fusion Annhilator up close...But with your form accelerated, you have the moment's respite you need to swing your arm up, the bulky shape of the Annhilator cannon sketching itself into being. Heat stabs forth from your Cobalt Booster, energy flooding into the charging element - The lights winking from green to blue, cycling up to full power...

There's still a delay. It still sees it coming. Alecto's wings come up, with tendon-snapping force; Metal glinting in the red-cored flesh, as it hunches down upon itself, furling its pinions over it's skull - Lightning dancing between the Glyphs, forming a half-real screen...

>>20286098>>20286128>>20286139So we're choosing *not* dig for information about the Player/Corrector fusion? We still don't know the full story with that and the Thief has proven himself perfectly uncaring about other people. One way or another the bat needs to go down, but I like the thought of not killing another person if it can be avoided.

It hits the glyph screen, the forcefield; The beam splinters, rivulets of energy flashing out in all directions, like liquid - Even as the Talons plough into your fast-time bubble, like an unkindness of ravens, slicing at you as your Interceptors fan out to meet them, bludgeoning them aside from your motionless form...

-The Fusion ray goes *through*. It hits Alecto's wings, and boils the flesh away - Until it gets through the meat, and turns the silver to metal vapor. The blast *stakes* the creature - Right through the chest - impaling the thing's core; You actually see a *rent* open up in it's flesh, struggling to heal, ripping out the other side.

It's falling. It *was* flying, but now it's falling - Like some primal Icarus, wings charred to nothing, aflame. The great shadow is falling over you, as it tumbles down through the air, gracelessly - By some accident or design, it'd slam down right where you're standing, slowed only the fading remnants of your fast-time bubble...

-Until, with a start, your magnetic clamps unlock from the ground. You're free to move again, with a massive Corrector ploughing down from the skies towards you.

> Cobalt Boost for speed and OUT OF THE FUCKINGWAY!> Unload the Plasma Caster straight into its face.

You raise the Plasma Caster - The barrel materalizing as your arm comes up in an unsweeping arc - and trigger it; A wide-angled burst of molten heat flares up at the descending creature, scorching the charred flesh further...Not quite enough to blast a path *through*, though.

Uh...shit.

Fortunately, you have a backup plan, as the burning, flailing corpse - Just so much carrion, now - tumbles through the air. The Cobalt Booster in your chest sobs heat, bleeding blue light that stings your muscles...The myomer bundles momentarily supercharged, all your strength forced into a lunging sprint...

You breach the bubble of fast-time, and it disorientates you for a crucial moment - Enough that you barely clear it, as what remains of Alecto slams down to the uneven tiles of the Pandemonium stage.

Not entirely, though; Part of the thing's half-molten metal frame smacks against you, sending new pain lurching up your spine - But at least you don't suffer the indignity of being crushed to death beneath your kill. Still, it's *damn close*. The impact concussion judders the ground away beneath your sprinting feet; For one heart-stopping moment, you're in the air, as a noise louder than anything you could've imagined rings in your ears...

Alecto's head crashes to the ground about two meters to your right - The beak scraping against the floor in a long, shrieking arc, as the flesh seems to dissolve off the Corrector's metal 'bones'.

The marble sacrophagus is unharmed, mostly - Though slightly askew, now, after the devastation wrecked upon the thing's frame. Is there - You're not sure, but it sounds like you can hear *something*, a noise, from within...

>>20286399Giving it up? The entire trade is to receive it. We'd be giving up the Fatal Abyss for it. Point is, we still don't know what Joker's Memory would do for us. Act like another upgrade tier? Actually give us the previous Joker's memories? Integrate our old suit into the new? No way to tell.

More problematically, we've no confirmation that what the Thief was holding was the Joker's memory and not some flickering glass sphere. The sword however is a weapon belonging to someone who made it to the top five last time. It might be preferable to hold on to it...

It takes you a moment to catch your breath, for the dark spot in your vision to go away. More than that: You don't see (or feel) the familiar green motes of empowering essence that comes with a kill, the Corrector's tortured form simply succumbing to accelerated entropy, disintegrating rather than rotting.

That just leaves the sacrophagus, affixed to the rumpled metal of Alecto's eyeless skull. You wait, cautiously - Steam still cooking off into the air, as you observe the carved surface from a safe distance.

What *is* that thing, really? Perhaps you spoke too soon; It seems less like a coffin, and more like...A control device? A torture device? Either. Both.

When nothing happens, you draw closer - Hearing, again, muffled sounds from the other side. It's sealed fast, almost welded in place; Clearly, this thing was never meant to be opened, once closed. But the fall has jarred it - You curl your gauntleted fingers around the sides, and *pull* with all your strength...

>>20286458He SAID it responded to us. For all we know it was a flashlight with a low battery and a fast talker taking advantage of someone susceptible to mysticism. Again, no way to tell.

For the record I am FOR the trade for reasons of PLOT, but remain convinced that it's a bad deal. For one thing, why didn't the Joker's Heir start the game with the Joker's Memory? Food for thought that.

>>20286448I actually have something of a counter-measure in mind to insure the thief doesn't just up and try to kill us upon getting the fatal abyss. It involves us talking with Hecate a bit though, plus we haven't even found the blasted sword yet. So I'll table the idea until the correct time.

There *is* a Player inside. A matte-black form - The legs tapering off to a smooth point, fused together - that reminds you of a carved chess piece, if not for the smoking rents that line the surface. It's winged, too, with the same skeletal pinions Alecto's massive form sported...

-And the ebony surface is riddled with countless filaments, piercing through the marble, *into* it, like an iron maiden. A violet visor - Just a slit of smoked-glass - flickers to fitful life, as...

She screams. She screams, and there's no doubt it's Reiko's voice, howling sobs of desperation and fear. For several long, aching moments, she can only scream and thrash - Until there is nothing within her, within the armor, to scream any more.

"Please..." she gasps - And it *has* to be her, unlike the filtered scramble of Chrome Cypher's or the Thief's voice - "Please...Oh, god...stop...just...just let it *end*..."

You reach in - Metal fingers closing on her shoulder. You can't cut her out of it, because - Like you - she *is* this form, here...But you can pull her out. You hear the filaments wrench from her armor, with unpleasant noises; Dark fluid welling out from the punctures, as her form (RAMBLING FEATHER, your HUD tags) struggles against you.

"No-" she begins. "No, *don't*-" When she struggles, you can hear the emanciated metal skeleton twitch, in parody of her motion. The sharp edges of her armor scrape against yours, as you lever her out of it...

-Wait a minute. *Is* it a torture device? Or a control mechanism? It's moving *with* her...Was the *Corrector* the puppet? Or was she the prisoner?

"-You sent it *away*-" the words come out as a sob, like a child's. "You h-have to give it *back*..."

I would rather not kill her since her body is in fact standing DIRECTLY in front of ours in the real world. The backlash from the accident that would kill her might hurt us too. Also people that knew her identity might get suspicious of us being a player. We should think before killing someone.

>>20286606Crazy idea: I think this thing needs an alternate living host of some sort in order to make it let go of Reiko. So could we put the assault shroud in back of Reiko and flood it with the booster to power it up enough that the alecto shell registers it as a surrogate body?

>>20286606[x] FREE"I'm not sure what 'it' is, but I do know that we can talk all later if we both make it back. Do you know how to separate the Corrector from your armor? Would destroying the rest of it hurt you now? Can Rambling Feather survive separate from Alecto?"

Hang on a minute. That's two different "it"s I think. Anyone wonder about that black sphere at the center of our Fuck the World Cannon?

>I personally think that the black core is made out of condensed "Fuck Whatever This Is Pointed At" and "Death".Sweet Christ it's a Sphere of Annihilation. We have a Sphere of Annihilation hidden somewhere in our armor. Oh god oh god.

> [X] "You're not making any sense."> [X] "...What the hell *is* this thing?"

Her voice is hoarse, feeble - Belied by her expressionless, featureless helm. Pointed fingers claw against your vambraces, leaving faint scratches; She puts her hands over her 'face', and sobs, dry, racking sounds.

There may have been someone inside her once, but she's almost completely gone - With barely anything left, no words, terror or hatred.

> [X] "Shhh, easy now - I've got you out."> [X] "That thing was... an abomination. You are better of without it. Tsk. Argent Prominence was it? I think he and i have a bone to pick now."

"I- I didn't *know*!" The words come out as a sob. "...How could I *know*?" Foul, clotted fluids trickle from the gouges and gashes in her armor - You're disengaged her from most of the filaments, but there are countless more...Hooked into the core of her armor, perhaps even her nervous system.

Around you, the skeletal frame trembles, protesting as you pull the occupant (the pilot?) free. The Thief is some distance away, pacing up towards you - His head canting in a manner that indicates curiosity, clearly still out of earshot.

> [x] "I'm not sure what 'it' is, but I do know that we can talk all later if we both make it back. Do you know how to separate the Corrector from your armor? Would destroying the rest of it hurt you now? Can Rambling Feather survive separate from Alecto?"

She stills; You hear the faint *scritch* of her claws (Or is that talons?) against her crimson carapace. "My, my *other half*~" she chokes out - A shudder wrenching through her form - "-It belongs *with* me...You h-have to bring it *back*..."

[ ] "...That *Corrector* was part of you?"[ ] "-You're going to be fine, as soon as we translate back."[ ] "Thief, can you do anything to help?"[ ] Free.

>>20286732"Jeez, if you think that Corrector was a part of you you are gone farther than i expected. And trying to kill me has gotten you on my shit-list anyways so you better shut up and be grateful to me for letting you live. Now excuse me while i start trying to save your miserable ass."

>>20286760The thing about Argent Prominence is that he has something that's on par with "Quantum singularity FUCK YOU cannon". While the ability to create black holes is fine and dandy, we're sitting ducks while doing so. The only reason the mega corrector didn't fuck our shit up is because it was too slow, I don't think someone like Argent Prominence will suffer from the same problem. We need more dirt on him, and a plan before we go in guns blazing.

> "Part of you? Was it always part of you, or did someone MAKE it part of you? Either way, I don't think keeping you plugged into is good."> [X] "...That *Corrector* was part of you?"

She's not making too much sense. This close, you can smell the after-burn of effort...The tang of a burnt-out mind. Was she already like this? Or did the Corrector's death-agony do something to her?

You can hear her harsh, clotted breathing - The choked-off animal sobs, racking and wretched at once, as the Thief's boots clatter on the marble nearby.

> "Jeez, if you think that Corrector was a part of you you are gone farther than i expected. And trying to kill me has gotten you on my shit-list anyways so you better shut up and be grateful to me for letting you live. Now excuse me while i start trying to save your miserable ass."

> [X] "Thief, can you do anything to help?"

A thin beam of hot red energy stabs across the distance - Just over your shoulder, a searing crimson spear of destruction. Not like your gatlings; It's an overcharged shot, a sniper weapon of some kind.

Even battered and damaged, your armor - Especially armor optimized for plasma munitions - would be rather protective against it. But he's not aiming at you...

-He's aiming at Rambling Feather.

She ignites, as the heat-beam sears into her denuded form, cooking from her within. Flames scorches out at you, to little effect - The matte-black shape collapsing back into the coffin, in miserable, flailing distress, the marble sacrophagus turned into a ready-made crematorium.

>>20286841Thief, it was pretty fucking obvious that I was trying to help her, to get more information on this abomination so that we could more effectively deal with this sort of thing when it happens again, and mark my words it will happen again.

So knowing that you decide to do this, to go contrary to the desires of the person who is your best hope of finding your cosmic butterknife of glory.

What i also want to say is that thief is acting like a real asshole. Instead of telling us she can't be saved, he shoots her. No last words, no information. THEN he steals the xp we could have used to make ourselves stronger, so we would be more able to survive. BUT NO, he had to act like an edgy teenager. Fuck him, fuck him and his sword.

He inhales. Shimmering green motes of light rise from the burning shape, as it ceases thrashing - sinking into him, the gauntness of his skull-helmet more produced. It's an odd feeling; You've never seen someone gain power from the *outside* before - The Thief seems to stand a little taller, a little straighter, those red-glowing eyes go back to you.

> [X] That was pretty fucking cold, Thief.

He shrugs.

"...She was about to kill you, Joker." Flat, no inflection. Somewhere close by, you hear a dull *groan* - The Corrector's shell trembles, and you hear the dry clatter of Talons falling to the ground. You notice that the skeletal framework is - Only now - beginning to disintegrate, as his head cants curiously towards you.

> "You realize of course that she was an incredibly valuable source of information? Or was erasing that part of the plan too?"

He snorts. "A runaway. A forgotten failure. She knew nothing; Now she *is* nothing."

That grinning skull-head shakes, once, as he presses a gloved hand against his cuirass for emphasis. "Besides - I helped. My Relics. My weapons."

Red-glowing eyes.

"My *kill*."

[ ] "-You can't *know* she was trying to hurt me."[ ] "You're lying; You did this just for the kill, didn't you?"[ ] "...You know, I don't think I like you very much."[ ] "...You murdered her. In cold blood."[ ] "That was still a dick move."[ ] Free.

>>20286980"Your kill, huh? Didn't seem that way back at the tennis courts. You could have used Alecto to test me back then instead of trying to fight me yourself. You never did explain how the experiment of one of the most powerful competitors this cycle happens to be... worthless. Might want to run that by me again. Didn't quite catch that part. "

>"...She was about to kill you, Joker.""I doubt she knew who I was. How many people have you held at the edge of death? I've been there myself. Besides, the creature was slaved to her movement and she only had strength to shiver."

"I'm going to give you some advice: destroy the Joker's Memory right now. Because if it still exists when I find Fatal Abyss I'll be claiming it with the rest of your toys after I ram the sword down your throat. Really, you shouldn't have made such a big deal about the sword. I have every intention of winning this contest in my own right. If you don't think you can hack it without the sword you shouldn't have told me you wanted it.

>>20287060I'm still interested in getting the memory back. Also there is no need to antagonize him or start a fight right now. We're in bad shape and he's fresh, we get into a fight we're not gonna do that well.

>>20287079Fight's over, he'd have to hunt us down if he wanted a new one. We'd be at full HP for that. When we threw down earlier he had the advantage because we didn't know what he could do and we still smashed his face in. Now we've seen some of his arsenal (but not all of it) so the odds come back into our favor.

> [X] "...You know, I don't think I like you very much."> [X] "That was still a dick move."> [X] "I am warning you, another one of your dick moves and you are going to regret it."

"And neither do I." There's something ugly in his voice, now, an unpleasant rasp - One unfiltered by the helm he's wearing. "-You never *think*. Never *plan*. You'll do *anything* for a pretty face; Just jumping through the same hoops in a different order."

> [X] "...You murdered her. In cold blood."

He shrugs. He's annoyed, and it shows - The motion is a graceless jerk, as he shoves his carbine back into the holster.

Silence. He goes still - Saying nothing, doing nothing; You get the impression he's trying to calm himself, his breath cycling raggedly through his lungs, a hoarse rasp through his filter. Again, his helmet makes it wretchedly hard to make out his expression - He's angry, possibly even furious, but about what?

Then: "Come back with the Fatal Abyss. Or not at all."

His form wavers - turns translucent - disperses into smoke.

As the flames die away, you make out...something, as Rambling Feather's burnt-out shell disintegrates. Something left behind...

The Corrector is rapidly disintegrating - fading, really - as it breaks down in the shifting substance of the red world. Your weary footsteps clank against the ground, as you cross over to the charred marble sacrophagus - One of the few signs of the battle that isn't slowly vanishing, as the crimson reality shapes itself back into place.

-It seems that the Thief left something behind...Or was he too angry to notice? Either, maybe...Or both.

The *thing* is - It looks like a compact backpack, sprouting two blunt control surfaces from the shoulders...Flaring out at the bottom into paired vents, the same matte-black milled metal as Rambling Feather's armor. It smells like ozone and lightning - The pack surprisingly clean, sleek amid all the charred ruin.

>>20287154That's the status quo yes, but the game is changing. We've already had interlopers, unhealing wounds, a Black Joker, an allied encounter and a friendly date with another Player. Trust could be a weakness, but it could also be our one chance to change the rules of the game and WIN it.

>>20287176I wouldn't classify Hecate as a Player, while technically she is a Player she's more of a wild card than we are. She exists outside the status quo, is enigmatic as hell and doesn't look like any other player. Also she's hot as hell and wears stockings and heels.

When you pick it up, particles swirl around you - Hexagonal polygons filtering down your arms, flickering across the Relic's surface in a tesselating wave. It dissolves in your grasp; When it reforms, you feel a faint presence against your back...

The metal tongues of shoulder-strap buckles seal themselves, with the click of spring-loaded magnetic lockers; Immediately, the pack begins to whine and throb, as if turbine power is building up within it as turbine fans cycle up to speed...

You leap. Cohered rings of sizzling atmosphere coalesce at your back, just below the venting ducts - There's no fire, no heat, though white lightning sparks sizzle in your wake...As the Tempest Scrander *kicks*, hurling you up high. For one, dizzying moment, you're in the air - Ten meters up, twenty, *thirty*...

-The jets cut out, and you make an impromptu landing on a descending skyscraper...Your legs churning against the ground, as you slide to a stop.

The Tempest Scrander is a utility Relic, which will boost your mobility. When activated, it uses a static charge to *repel* against inherent magnetic fields, propelling you through the air - However, at this level, you can manage a *single* burst of thrust to:

With the Thief gone, the red world is beginning to fade out. The edges of the crimson reality waver and...

-And your eyes open to darkness. Darkness, and noise - You're somewhere small, somewhere with a rumbling engine, with the cool sip of an air-conditioner...It's a moment of the most severe disorientation, as your vision slowly adjusts - Making out the back of a seat, then a head-

Somewhere close by, you hear a soft giggle; The faint rustle of blonde hair, as Mio turns to you.

(To clarify, there's a brief recharge between uses. So you can leap, or break a fall...Not both simultaneously. While you can adjust how *far* you want to jump - Overshooting would be intensely unpleasant for you, especially if you fall a great distance.)

>>20287350I'm not seeing any reason to suspect her as a Player. Though I suppose she could be the Thief, it would explain an awful lot.

The fight at the tennis court was between us and Thief and I don't think he could shunt the misfortune onto her like that without her being aware if she was a Player other than the Thief, though this is a complete guess.

Reiko could have grabbed her phone for some reason after she got smacked in the head due to our match which explains why she didn't know who was calling when we called the phone.

It would also potentailly explain why she told us to give her regards to the Chalice Queen, she might have been referring to Hecate.

Though this begs the question why Eri/Mio decided to fight us during a match.

(No, you can use it multiple times in combat - But it has a brief wait to recharge, so you can't repeatedly superjump all over the place. Yet.)

> Teach me Joker Quest OP-sensei! Can we use the Scrander for extreme horizontal movement as well?

(Theoratically, you could. But - And this is a big but - you don't really have that much control. You pick how much force you want, hit the button, and you're *off*. It's entirely possible to slam into something *really hard*, or go wildly of-course.)

> Could we use the Scrander at the apex of a Cobalt Boosted leap to propel ourselves at the ground, or an enemy with devastating force?

(Yes...But same problems as before. Remember, your armor is comparatively lightweight, as compared to certain opponents - High-impact collisions may not do you much good. And that's if you don't miss.)

The red world had always been inconsistent. Some times it seems as if no time has passed while we were in it, some times we fall unconscious for a time. I am not surprised by anything that happens in that strange world anymore.

> [X] "...You didn't see Akira at all?"> [X] "She's the student council president. I thought I went to visit her..."> [X] "...No, nothing. I was still a little sleepy."

Mio shakes her head, no ~ "...Maybe he left before you came back?" There's a casual air to her voice, as if it doesn't particularly matter to her. She mock-sighs, just a little; "Aaah, and I thought you were by my side, until I woke up...That's a bit sneaky, Anon-kun."

> [X] "Where are we going?"

"Oh, right - You haven't been this way before, have you?"

You haven't. Then again, all the roads kind of look the same to you...Though you'd admit that you're in a better-looking district than usual. Could it be...

"-We're heading towards Seisin High...I - in fact, I think we should stop soon; It'd be...a little strange...if I turned up at the girl's dorm with a boy..."

She brushed her hair back, a little nervously - Though her faint smile takes the sting from her words. "...You know how it is, Anon-kun."

[ ] Sure, that sounds best.[ ] You're worried we'd be seen together?[ ] ...Well, I guess it can't be helped.[ ] Ah, I see - I wouldn't want to start any rumors.[ ] Free.

> [X] Sure, that sounds best.> "I understand. You get enough from your classmates without rumors of you sneaking boys in floating around. It's fine: If you need anything let me know, just call me. Take care of yourself."

Her lips curve in a soft, shy smile, as the taxi draws to a stop - The meter ticking away patiently, the cool night air informing it upon you as it pauses by the side of the road. Faintly, in the distance, you can see the raised shape of Mio's school, atop a hill...The beginnings of a well-lit walkway lined with slender trees.

"...You too, Joker-kun~" she says, softly - And giggles, as if at a secret joke. "-I think I may keep calling you that...But you can call me 'Mio', anytime you want." She moves as if to step away from the cab...

[ ] "-I'll walk you the rest of the way?"[ ] "See you soon, Mio." - Ask the driver to take you back to school. - Have the driver take you to the Papillion. - Have the driver take you home.[ ] Free.

>>20287624[X] "See you soon, Mio." It was lovely to see you again despite the unfortunate circumstances of our meeting. I hope to see you again soon.

- Have the driver take you to the Papillion.

As much as I'd like to walk her the rest of the way we don't want to screw her reputation even more by having her show up with a strange boy, no need to give the people who dislike her more ammunition.

And the Papillion to see Hecate, we just got an influx of new information and a pile of questions to ask, we should get some more info. That and it'd be nice to see her again. All going to school will do is tell us exactly how Reiko's corpse showed up and we can learn that tomorrow and I'm guessing Akira has already gone home.

>>20287730My main justification for Papillion is that we're going to find out what happened at school tomorrow no matter what, we go there every day of the week. So why not visit the Papillion and be efficient about it.

> [X] "See you soon, Mio." > - Have the driver take you to the Papillion.

The last you see of her is her smiling face - She waves as the cab pulls away, turning aside only at the last moment, to begin the long ascent up to the dormitory.

As for you...You're left alone with your thoughts, as you try to make sense of the day. Six years - Five years of waiting, of *training*...And now, this year, it all explodes. The last few years were mostly peaceful, with each battle - With the crimson world - intruding upon your life infrequently at best...

-But now, it feels like something's beginning, building to a head. Why *now*, of all times? And for what?

Those musings keep you busy all the way back to school...Up until you hear the sirens. The blue-and-red flash of an ambulance's lights make you wince, as you step from the cab; Aware that a small crowd has gathered, even as this comparatively late time, as worried, tired-looking police officers gather around the front gate.

As you draw closer, you hear the *clank* of a mobile stretcher, hear the hurried footfalls as they bring another person out, loading the victim into the ambulance-

...It's Akira.

His face is pale, as he lolls on the stretcher - An oxygen mask affixed to his face, as the stretcher skitters pass. A stern - But sympathetic-looking - officer stops you, with a hand to your chest.

His eyes move...Or you think they do, at least, a rattling breath sawing from his throat. His head cants to the side, limp against his chest; Though his breathing seems to ease, just a little - The dry *hiss* of circulating oxygen, of oppressive space, so very loud in your ears.

[X] Look around - Is there anyone else you recognize?

Over his shoulder, you can see the officer's words being put to the lie; Within a second ambulance, you make out a violet-haired form - A grim-looking paramedic drawing the white plastic up and over Reiko's head, exchanging a glance, a shake of his head, with his partner.

She lies pale and still - But you can't help but notice, for a mere instant, the way her mouth has cracked at the edges - Her fingers still curled into loose, hooked claws.

Then the white-and-red doors slam, as the paramedics push you back; Exhaust washing over you in a fuming cloud, as the ambulance screeches away, down the road - And into the long, cold dark.

(Once again, thank you for everything: You've been a great audience. The next instalment of Joker Quest will be run this upcoming Thursday: I'll do my best to update the equipment FAQ with entries for the Quantum Singularity Cannon, and the Tempest Scrander.

Wait, so it may have been eri...But she was with us all along, even though she doesn't remember. Then akira was still at the school, and reika still died, but...Well, shit. how far are people willing to go to win this?

>>20287960The only person we have that has claimed that we woke Mio up and took her to a cab is Mio herself. If she really is the Thief then she is obviously one hell of a liar and I wouldn't put it past her to take us with her to the cab and when we woke up tell us that we woke her up and took her to the cab.

I'm thinking that Mio/Eri is the Thief but it could be Akira, it'd be a cakewalk for him to deposit the phone he used in Reiko's belongings but it's just as possibly that Reiko stole it from Mio after the tennis match.

As for how far people are willing to go, the answer is as far as needed to win. Some may be honorable, but for the most part the only priorities the Players have are victory or survival at all costs.

>>20288062No, there were five finalists. It's possible to survive to the end of the game without being a finalist, otherwise the Joker getting into the finals wouldn't be such a big deal.

Of course that's assuming there isn't some DARK SECRET about the game that we just don't know, like the non-players being robots or clones or something.

Still horribly lost with regards to the Thief. I feel there ought to be some clue with which to get a handle on him but there's nothing there that I can see except the sword. And while that did provoke a reaction, I can't get a handle on what it was. Augh.

>>20288182A willingness to kill but not a willingness to talk isn't a good basis for a relationship. If he had offered any explanation beyond "nearly dead girl was going to kill you" or any kind of proof beyond his word I might have been willing to listen. Instead Totentanz acted like an insufferable smug prick. Regret is all well and good but if you fail to act and get upset when called out on it let's just say it comes off as weak.